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Sothaal
Sothaal is perhaps the most decadent of all the gods. Sothaal is bright, bold and unashamed in everything he does. He is patron of lies, shadows and secrets as well as sensation, sensuality, fertility, beauty, all forms of art, control, discipline and abandon, illusions, stories and poetry, planning, extremes, waterways and the ocean. Chalices and bowels, filled with wine or water and infused with flowers, herbs and honey are popular offerings to Sothaal. Sweet breads, songs, artwork and pigments are also offerings which are approved of. Sothaal despises offerings of blood or the sacrifice of life in his name. He has been known to physically harm those who offer any of the like, including that of animal and insects, in his name. Personal Presentation Sothaal is not confined by binary gender associations. Sothaal regularly shifts his shape to various degrees across the genders spectrum. He "sees no point" in conforming to one alone when he "has been granted the opportunity to experience every tantalizing sensation from every angle." He does not mind being referred to as any pronoun when referring to him, though seemingly prefers 'He'. Iconography Sothaal appreciates all forms of life but in particular flora and insect life. Any plant or insect can be considered part of his iconography. Some depict Sothaal in works of art with many arms and legs in a similar manner to a spider, Other's have depicted Sothaal with many eyes or a multicolored halo similar to that of butterfly wings. Sothaal himself prefers jeweled beetles such as scarabs, spiders for silk, bees for their honey and butterflies for their beautiful colours. He revels in all interpretations of himself, and often changes his form and coloration to suit his mood, describing himself as a "believer in kaleidoscopic self-expression". It is not unknown for him to copy or closely mimic the appearance of an artistic depiction of himself he particularly has grown fond of. Golds and blues are the colours Sothaal likes the most, and often never wears anything else. He describes the "exquisite vibrancy" of gold and blue as a " vivid, colourful expression of the ultimate juxtaposition of land and sea". Water is Sothaal's element. Not only does he rule over waterways and the sea, but grace, fluidity, possibility and artistic expression. To be lavish in all things is to honour Sothaal completely. Pujari ''' Those dedicated to Sothaal are Pujari and act as extensions of Sothaal’s values and teachings. They often adorn themselves in the sacred colours of blue and gold to catch the approval and favour of their god. Though, Pujari do not shy away from any colour at all. During rites and rituals, they decorate themselves with as much colour and jewellery as possible, even elaborate body painting made from floral and mineral pigments. A golden sash always marks a Pujari in a crowd. It can be worn in many ways – over the head, over the shoulder or around the waist. It is often pinned in place with a golden broach of some kind. Often, graduating Pujari inherit the broaches of their teacher. The elder Pujari may wear many broaches, sometimes one for every year of their service. Pujari are never really chosen but volunteer themselves for the role. Many Pujari start as young adolescent artists, craving the guidance of Sothaal’s creative muses and dedicate themselves to Sothaal’s teachings. Pujari not only follow Sothaal but take inspiration from his Muses. '''Muses ~ Muses are souls from across time which have been sanctioned Muses by Sothaal due to incredible feats of skill, creativity and ingenuity. The chosen humans are revered as sacred and are declared illuminated by Sothaal himself. There have been 6 Muses across the 3000 cycles Sothaal has been in power. Lady Orissa ~ Capital City Lady Orissa was the first of all the Muses. She designed and engineered the floating city of Merdija back in 0035c. She implored Sothaal to help her construct the city over the river Jaita, around the marble tower, in exchange for complete and total dedication. Orissa’s spirit impressed the fledgling god and agreed to help her build the new city. It took Sothaal and 1500 men 200 days to finish constructing the beginnings of the floating city. Over the time, Orissa not only directed the artisans summoned to help her, but started her final and greatest project across the inner walls of the Capital’s Palace. Across the walls of the main hall, Lady Orissa constructed the finest mosaic anyone had ever seen. Crafted from the finest materials from across Erda, Orissa ordered preserved Albian ebony, polished Thulmian silver and gold fragments, specially crafted porcelain tiles from Tantian, gemstones from the volcanic caves of Altankora and many more materials from across Olvany to finish the mosaic. The mosaic was a glorious depiction of Sothaal himself, glimmering in gold and cerulean. The form which Orissa constructed became one of Sothaal’s favourites and when Orissa passed away in 0076c he decreed the Floating City should be named in her honour. And so, Merdija became Orissa, her body entombed under her greatest work. Saheb Mahabir ~ The Spider’s Loom Saheb was a young man in training to be a Pujari. He climbed the outside of the marble tower at Japaipura in response to criticism from his peers that he was not enough for his God. He meditated for hours at the top, ignoring all calls from his teachers, peers and family to return down from above the treetops at the edge of the Emerald Belt. He stared across the canopy well into the night. During this time, all manner of spiders, poisonous and not, came to spin webs with silk cast onto the boy. In his reverent state of meditation, Saheb did not move. He called to Sothaal for inspiration, desperate to prove himself. It was not Sothaal who answered, but the spiders. Gently, they wove what seemed like a bolt of silk, guided almost by divine hand. Saheb watched, the silvery threads become a pale cream fabric. He watched until sunrise when the spiders left and then proceeded back down the tower with the stunning bolt of fabric tied around his waist. The crowd camped at the bottom was stunned upon seeing the delicate silk bolt, now turning a pale golden colour in the morning sunlight. The moment Saheb’s feet touched the floor; Sothaal appeared from amongst the rays of the morning sun. Saheb fell to his knees, presenting the bolt of silk to his deity which was happily accepted by His Eminence. Saheb then declared that he would create one hundred more bolts of spider’s silk, woven by his own hand. Sothaal gave him a year to fulfil his promise. During that year, Saheb sealed himself away from society, accepting only wine, honey and bread, left at his door, for sustenance. Saheb studied the spiders; some say he spoke to them, whispering requests to help him fulfil his task. A year later, as the morning rose, Sothaal greeted the hermit at the base of the Marble Tower. Not only had Saheb woven 100 bolts of spider silk by hand, but had created a loom and 200 more bolts of silk. Saheb was declared an Illuminated Muse in 0105c. Piera Regimio ~ Reconstruction at Vendi The tower at Vendi fell in 2562c. The cause remains unknown and it caused many Olvians, including Sothaal himself, great distress. Piera Regimio was a survivor of the original disaster. Upon seeing Sothaal weep at the base of the destruction, Piera fell to her knees at his side and vowed she would spend the rest of her life reconstructing the lost homes and gardens of Vendi. She’s now the architect of Vendi, having redesigned and restored what she can around the newly formed oasis at the base of the ruins. Piera was illuminated as a Muse upon her death in 2597c. Abil and Mireil ~ Udyana at Lys In 0220c, Abil and Mireil visited the settlement of Lys. As Lys is on the edge of the Emerald Belt, the city rested on a rich space of forested land. Lys was just a ‘way point’ at this time, but being the last settlement along the trade routes from Albia before the Glass Wastes many people would pass through. Originally, Abil and Mireil spent most of their time tending to those sick and injured, especially from caravans. It wasn’t until 0225c Abil and Mireil created the grand outdoor temple to Sothaal named Udyana. The gardens started as a small, sacred place for meditation and reflection but grew and grew as the pair became more inspired to create. Udyana is made of many smaller gardens linked together over acres of land. The most popular segments include: the adorned trees, carved into by Abil and Mireil, Abil’s mosaic fountain and the sand gardens created by Mireil. Udyana wasn’t completed until 0231c. Abil and Mireil were buried in the grounds of the garden in 0257c as Illuminated Muses. Ranai Magar ~ Cure for the Blighting = During 1578c, a great plague spread through Marble Towers across Olvany; leaves turned black and curled inwards, flowers refused to bloom, crops rotted away. For 10 years, the Blighting ravaged the plant life of Olvany. Things were looking bleak, the country fell into Famine. Sothaal could contain large pockets for short periods of time, but eventually it would spread further and further. Ranai Magar managed to formulate a cure from rare herbs picked from Osmoor, Albia after trekking to Osmoor to and back to collect them. Ranai spent 8 months experimenting with the cure before finding the right formulation. The cure was highly successful and allowed the country to recover before more lives were lost. Ranai was decorated as a muse in 1588c. After a large amount of research, botanists in Lys discovered that the Blighting was created by fungi feeding on those buried into the grounds of the Marble towers without being burnt and the ashes anointed first. From 1590c, much to many people’s distress, burials involving whole corpses were banned and it became law that all bodies must be burnt before being interned into any grave to prevent such a famine to happen again. All ashes must be anointed with Sunana before being scattered. Purisadi Purisadi is the rite of ‘Marriage’ to Sothaal to all who offer themselves to him. It is a spiritual marriage which does not affect their other relationships but rather is a metaphor for combining divine inspiration with that of human ingenuity and craft. The ritual is full of dancing, song and music and can be very individual and personal to those seeking Purisadi. '' The brides and grooms are dressed in flowers and painted in bright pigments such as yellows and blues, often staining their skin weeks afterwards. Purisadi takes place by running water, either the sea or rivers. Many people travel, specifically for Purisadi, to the edges of the country or to the river Jaita for the ceremony. Sothaal and Vakosh Sothaal and Vakosh have regularly been at odds with each other. They have a disagreement every century or so, but never has there been a bigger disagreement than that of the summer months of 2230c. One morning, Summer of 2230c, the sky remained black as night and the earth began to shake. The quake lasted around 11 minutes and Sothaal was most displeased. Sothaal descended upon the closest beach to the epicenter and looked out to sea. No one dared approach him, his radiant face twisted in anger. He stood for hours, waiting with crossed arms and slowly, his subjects began to realise why. The tide seeped away from the edges of the land, pulling the azure sea further and further out, pulling boats, fish and nets with it. The stillness of the air was threatening. Birds fled from their branches, fleeing the oncoming danger. It was only when the air began to roar that the people realised a tsunami was on the way. People fled, climbing to the highest points they could, but Sothaal stayed watching the wall of water slowly approach the shore. Only a few devout stayed beside their god. As the wall raced forwards, Sothaal stretched his arms outwards. A golden wall of light shielded the land from the watery onslaught. Sothaal stayed until the tide returned to its normal, calm state before stepping out onto the sea and storming outwards to speak to Vakosh. The argument between the two raged across the sea, mighty storms rocking the coastline, grounding ships and halting trade. It was a week before Sothaal returned, ultimately satisfied with the recompense paid by Vakosh. Sothaal and The Marble Towers The decadent god is patron of Olvany the keeper of the Marble Towers in the Glass Wastes. He provides oasis of comfort and colour in the otherwise baron straits of the desert. He has been known to weep upon the damaging of the towers, even going so far as to run on foot for 18 days and nights to get to Vendi upon it's collapse, though he refused to fix it, claiming that he "could never restore it to it's previous grandeur, it's design was unique, irreplaceable, as all life is" and that he "refused to disgrace it's memory with an inadequate and unoriginal copy."